Connecting the world with color

About

CheerLights is an “Internet of Things” project created by Hans Scharler that allows people’s lights all across the world to synchronize to one color set by Twitter. This is a way to connect physical things with social networking experiences.

Give CheerLights a try and send a Tweet:

@CheerLights Paint the town red

This will cause a chain reaction and all of the CheerLights displays and apps will change their color to red.

Join the CheerLights project by building a device that follows the CheerLights API.

They say that the holidays are a time to gather with others, which usually translates into spending time with friends and family. The folks at ioBridge Labs thought that while friends and family certainly are a big part of the holidays, it would be pretty cool to gather together flocks of strangers by using the Internet to synchronize their Christmas lights.

“We live in a time and age that we are close because of technology than we have ever been. But, we use it for odd things. I wanted to feel the connections to others. In my mind’s eye, I see lights going on an off and seeing others notice it. Even if it is fleeting, we were connected in that moment. Cheesy, no?”

Once connected, anytime people tweet to the @Cheerlights twitter account or using the hashtag #cheerlights, all of the networked light displays all over the world will change at once. Hit the link below for the step-by-step, and give it a try before it’s too late in the holiday season.